Up to 30 percent of CVD mortality attributable to excess salt intake

Excess sodium intake is associated with 10 to 30 percent of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, according to a study published online March 26 in JAMA Network Open.

Hyung-Suk Yoon, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, and colleagues examined the associations of excessive dietary sodium with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among predominantly low-income Black and White Americans in a cohort study including 64,329 participants aged 40 to 79 years recruited from 12 Southeastern states from 2002 to 2009.

The researchers found that mean dietary sodium intake was 4,512 and 4,041 mg/day in Black and White individuals, respectively; 81.2 and 79.5 percent of Black and White individuals, respectively, exceeded the current dietary recommendations of 2,300 mg/day. A total of 17,811 deaths were documented during a median follow-up of 13.8 years, including 5,701 from CVD. The hazard ratios per 1,000-mg increase in daily sodium intake were 1.07 and 1.08 for deaths from total CVD and coronary heart disease (CHD), respectively, in Black individuals, and 1.08 and 1.13, respectively, in White individuals, after adjustment for potential confounders. There were no significant associations seen for cancer mortality. Sodium intake above the recommended threshold may account for 10, 13, and 30 percent of total CVD, CHD, and heart failure deaths, respectively, in this low-income Southern population in population-attributable risk estimates.

“Developing effective dietary modification strategies tailored to this marginalized population is urgently needed to promote health and prevent ever-increasing health disparities in the United States,” the authors write.

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